National Republican., 1887-12-26

approaches seemed to join in the great chorus
He shall reign from pole to pole
With illimltabo sway
He shall reign, when, like scroll,
Yonder heavens have passed away.
Rev. 7. Dewitt Talmage, d. D., took as the
subject OF his sermon, 1.-THE barn aud Its SUR
roundings." His text was taken from Luke
II, 15i THE shepherds said, one TO another,
let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see
this thing which is come to pass" DR.. Tai
mage said
one thousand years ofthe worlds existence
rolled painfully and wearily along, and no
Christ. Two thousand years, and no Christ.
Three thousand years, and no Christ. Four
thousand years, and no Christ. "Glve US a
Christ" had cried Assvrian and Persian aud
Chadean and Egyptian civilization. but the
no answer. The world had already been
ntiluent OF genius. Among poets had appeared
Homer. and Thespis and Arlstophanes aud
Sophocles and Euripldes and Alexis Eschylus,
yet no Christ to be, the most poetic figure of
the centuries. Among historians had ap.
peared Herodotus and Xenophon and Thucy-
was TO date backward and forwaTd-B. 9. aud
A. ID. Among conquerors Camillls and Man.
Illus and,Regulus and Xantippus aud Hannibal
and Scipio and Pompey and Cesar, yet no
Christ who was TO be conqueror OF earth aud
heaven. $Gn
the slow hour at last arrived, The world had
had matins or concerts in the morning and
yespers or conoertsiu the evening, but nov II
islo have q concert at midnight. The black
thrown open, and some OF the best singers OF
aworld wheie they all sing stood there, ana
putting back he drapery of cloud chanted Il
peace anthem. until all the echoes of hill aud
chorus
Christ It needs. Come, let us 90 into that
Christmas scene as though we had never be.
fore worshipped at the manger. Here Is a
nd tunr I q
the most frequent name In all lands and In all
Christian centuries is Mary. And there are
Merys IN palaces aud Matys In cabins, and
Spanish aud English pronounce II differently,
they are all namesakes of the one whom we
against D the soft C cheek Of Christ In in the night Of
the nativity. All the great painters have tried
on canvas 10 present Mary. and her child aad
WORLDS history. Raphael, in three different
and Guirlandjo surpassed themselves in the
nothing more than his Madonna to become
immortal. The Madonna OF the Lily. by Leo:
nardo da vinci,. will kindle the admiration Of
by his pencil than In his presentation of the
Holy Family. But oil the galleries OF Dresden
are forgotten when think OF tho small room
oithat tgallery containing the sistine Madonna.
Yet all Of them were copies OF st Matthew'S
Madonna, and Lukes Madonna, the inspired
Madonna Of the Old Book, which we had put
we hope to have under our head when we die.
Behold, in the first place, that on the. first
night Of christ's life God honored the brute
creation. You cannot get into that Bethlehem
barn without going past the camels. the mules.
the dogs, the oxen. The brutes Of that stable
heaId The first cry Of the infant A. Lord Some
camels kneeling that night before the new
born babe. And well might they kneel.
other ssSinss to Alleviate the sueiinss OF the
brute creation Was 1t not appropriate that
he should, during the first few days and nights
dumb beasts, whose moan and plaint and bel-
lowing have for ages been prayer to God for
the arrestinG OF their tortuIes and the Fighting
SO" that the uninteilipent creatures Of God
= should have been that night In close neigh.
borhood Not q kennel in all the centuries, not
q BIRDS nest, not 0 worn-0ut horse on towpath,
not u herd freezing In the po0rly-built cow
pen, not a freight car in summer time bring
Ing the beeves 20 market without water through
n thousand miles of agony, not a surgeon 8
room witnessing the struggles of fox or rabbit
or pigeon or dog in the horrors OF viyisection.
but has in the fact that sS Ght
remembers that night, and the prayer He
heard in their pitifnl moan He will answer In
Dumb bruies. They surely haveas much right
in this world as we have.
In the first chapter of Genesis you may see
that they were placed on the earth before man
was, the tish and fowl created hfth day, and
the quadruped on the morning OF the sixth
day, and man not until the afternoon OF that
the Lesser creatures OF their kind were prede
cessors of the human family. They have the
world by right OF possession. They have also
an army OF defense oil over the land are the
faithful watch coRs. And who can tell what
The world owes 70 horse, and camel. aud OK
which they have 6ilea orchard M and
forest, more than paid for the few grains they
have picked up for their sustenance. Wher
you abuse any creature of God you strike it.
creator, and you insult the Christ who, though
he might have been n Welcomed ,I, g & ipto life b,
amid ,Tyran plush and canopied- couches
and rippling waters from royal aqueduct
ps s oin S hs evs yGi Wi horn aos
he the aileyiation ofbfutai suffering as well al
Standing tLep, @ I as imagine now do. in tha
one side and the speechless creatures OF Goo
ns o sde hoT TaEye yeu o
eurbed bit from that bleeding mouth. Remoy,
that saddle from that raw back; Shoot MOI 70
get not To put water into the cage of tina
canary. Throw out SOME crumbs TO thos
birds caught too far north In the winters in
that one horse draw a load heavy enough TO
three. Rush in upon that scene where boy
are torturing cat, or transfxing butteri.
robin, for her nest is a motner'
cradle and under her wing there may be thre
Or four prima donnas Of the sky In training mi
the coming generation more mercy than tn
preient gensra!ion has ever shown. and in thi
pon out Spe 81 4 ae .sap
also The camel, and while they hear the celes
,ial chant let them also hear the cows moan
icsi world when He said; "Conhlder tn
lilies." than He showed sympathy for tn
opithological when He said, Behold the fowl
lie allowed Himself to be called in one place
lion ana In another place q lamb. Mean
while may the Christ of the Bethlehem cattl
fhat arc preparing diseased and feyered mea
for our American households.
Behold also In this Bible scene how on thl
hT ESye made hShoffs Ss yst o S
world In q cloud, as He will descend on Hi
next visit in cloud. IN. what chariot 9
lightning Of drawn sword. Elijah had a cal
riBge OF lire to take him up, why not Jesus
carriage of fire 10 fetch Him DOWN Or owe
the aIched bridge of rainbow the Lord mlgll
have descended. Or Christ might have ha
His mortality built up on earth out of the du'
the start without the introductory feeblenes
Of infancy. No, moi Childhood was to b
honored by that advent; lie must have
childs light limbs, and child's dimpled hand
aud child's beaming eye, an1 a child
aaxen hair, and baby byhood was to be honorc
Tor al time to come, and cradle wa
70 mean more than grave. Mighty Goo
May the reflection OF that one child
face be, seen IN all iniantile faces Enoug
have all those fathers and mothers ON hand
they have child In the house. throne,
crown, scepter, kingdom under charge
be careful how you strike him across III
heed, jarring the brain. What you say TO hiI
will be centennial and millennial, and hun
dred years and a thousand years will not sto
the echo and re echo Do not say "Itis only
cbild.". Rather say, at Is only an immortal.